Tag Archives: home buyer

Selling your home? If you look at it as product for sale and not as your home, you’re more likely sell it quickly and profitably. Why? Because you’ll be able to detach from thinking of it as yours. You can then remove personal items and arrange your home to attract the widest amount of buyers. And don’t worry, you can bring all the great memories and personal items to your next home!

The key to effective staging is for you to detach from thinking of your home as your home and instead think of it as a product to be sold.

Here are Five Powerful Home Staging/Decorating Tips:

1- Walk up to your front door. Open it. What’s the first thing you see? That’s what prospective buyers will see when they open the door. It’s their first impression. It can’t be changed. Make sure what you see is not cracked, crooked, worn, smelly, dirty, or personal. In other words, no chipped paint, ill-placed artwork, tattered carpet, flowers in need of a water change, smudges on the mirror, or photos of your last family reunion.

2- How much natural light does your home have? Homes with lots of natural light sell quicker and at a higher price because people feel more energized and comfortable in the space. Make sure that all window treatments are open except if there’s an obvious unsightly scene outside. Turn on all the lights when you have a showing but avoid using flourescent lights unless you don’t have other options. If you’ve got a dark house you create more light by painting the interior walls yellow, cream or beige. And remove all clutter and superfluous furniture. Add accessories in these colors: red, bright orange and yellow. If it’s practical, install sky tubes which allow natural light from above and are less expensive than sky lights.

3- Can you navigate easily through rooms and hallways? The furniture arrangement in each room must allow for lots of room and for ease when walking through the space. Remember that buyers are going to check out every room and will usually open closets. Make sure it’s easy for them to get there. You may have to rearrange furniture, but do what you need to in order create a good traffic flow through the space.

4- By now most people know that personal family photos should not be on display when showing your home. But that’s not all. Remove animal skulls, deer antlers, animal-skin rugs, bones, mounted fish, photos of mounted fish, and anything else that’s no longer with us. You don’t want to turn off anyone that has an aversion to these type of dead things. Also trophies, swords, knives, and aggressive images are best removed. Conversely, religious icons should be put away prior to showing your home. You don’t want to limit buyers who may have judgments against certain religions.

5- In each room, look up and look down, open all closets and cabinets and assess the dirt situation. Then clean, scrub, vacuum, polish, dust, wipe, sweep, and deodorize as necessary. No time? Hire a cleaning service to do it for you. It’s very important that buyers feel immediately comfortable in the house. Picture yourself checking into a hotel and finding dust bunnies under the bed or fingerprints on the mirror. It leaves a bad impression and you don’t feel comfortable. The same principle applies here.

Good luck with selling your home and remember that these tips can be used even if you’re not selling your home. They’re good Feng Shui!

Selling your home? To enjoy the highest price and the quickest sale possible remember that every detail of your home’s appearance is important. Buyers are possibly making the biggest investment they’ll ever make. They want to make sure they’re making a good choice. The key to creating an appealing home is to pay attention to every detail. If you’re not typically detail-oriented and haven’t noticed things like cobwebs in the corner of your front porch or chipped paint on a door frame, you’ll benefit from getting another pair of eyes to help you. Sometimes we’re simply not able to see all the flaws a buyer might notice.

The most important thing to remember is that you only have one chance to make a good impression. Once an impression is made and first impressions are made within seconds the buyer will either be excited about the house or will be hesitant.

The very first impression a buyer gets is driving up to your home and walking to the front door. Here are ten important details to address outside your home:

1- The yard needs to be in pristine condition. This means grass mowed, flower beds weeded, and all dead plants removed or cut down.

2- If your home needs exterior painting, get it painted. If you have a wood deck, get it power washed. Clean your gutters. Certain types of roofs can be power washed.

3- Whether your mailbox is on the street or on your front porch, ensure that it’s clean. Replace it if it’s old and worn. Don’t leave your mail in sight waiting to be picked up. Buyers need to be able to see themselves in the home and if they see your mail it may hinder their vision.

4- Regardless of the size of your yard make sure that the front of the house has color. The best colors to perk interest are fire colors – red, orange, purple, and pink. Add color by planting flowers in beds and in pots placed on either side of the front door. Ensure the pots are look new.

5- Clean your front door thoroughly. Consider changing the hardware and kick-plate if they are tired-looking.

6- Place a thick, colorful welcoming door mat outside the front door. It needs to be in perfect condition. Fire colors in the mat are helpful – especially if your front door is beaten-up. The doormat will divert a buyer’s attention from the door. Avoid personalized doormats. Remember that you’re trying to appeal to all buyers and if you have a mat with an expression like “Wipe Your Paws” you may turn off people that don’t like pets.

7- If space allows, create a vignette with patio furniture or add a porch swing to help buyers imagine themselves sitting outside. Remove any patio furniture that isn’t in mint condition. Oftentimes, patio furniture can be spray painted to look fresh.

8- Clean the windows and sweep the front porch.

9- A winding pathway to the street is the most desirable but if you have a straight path to the front door put potted plants on either side or plant flowers on either side to create more of a natural feel.

10- If practical, place a fountain in the front yard or by the front door to add energy, character, and a sense of peacefulness. One of the easiest ways to is to buy a bubbling fountain in a large ceramic pot and place convenient to an outdoor electrical outlet.

And if you’re not selling a home, use these ideas to improve your enjoyment of your home while you’re living in it!

One of the most common and costly mistakes you can make when selling your home is not paying attention to the smells in your home. When a prospective buyer opens the front door, they’ll be hit with your home’s unique odors. They’ll form a first impression based on whether they experience a pleasing smell, or if something immediately turns them off. The importance of smell can’t be underestimated because it’s nearly impossible to change a first impression.

Here are 7 Important Staging Guidelines to Help you Sell your Home Quickly:

1. Don’t try to cover-up odors, instead, do all you can to reduce them. Buyers are generally turned-off by strong air fresheners and if you don’t remove the offending odor, they’ll not only smell it but they’ll also smell the room freshener. Double trouble!

2. Take out the trash often. Even if the trashcan is hidden under the sink or in a closet, it’s best to simply keep the trash empty when showing your home.

3. If you smoke inside the house stop, start smoking outside only. Non-smokers immediately pick up on cigarette smoke. If you’ve got years of built-up smoke you may need to re-paint, clean the carpet and drapes, and clean the air-ducts. And open the windows for several hours to dispel energy and clean the air.

4. Don’t cook before a buyer comes to see your home because cooking odors can linger and will create a reaction. You don’t want to risk the buyer having a negative reaction. The only exception is baking bread or pastry – which is a terrific way to enhance a buyer’s experience of your home.

5. The best air fresheners to use are those with natural scents like citrus or spices like vanilla and cinnamon.

6. To keep things natural-smelling you can heat cinnamon sticks in boiling water before a showing. Also, cut up oranges, lemons or limes and place them in a bowl in the kitchen.

7. Wash your pet often. Keep pet bedding clean and diligently clean any “messes” that may have occurred between showings.

Selling your home this year? As a Realtor® in Austin, Texas, I’ve worked with sellers living in fear throughout the process, particularly in the current real estate market. Good news! You don’t have to let fear and anxiety take over your life when selling your home. Internalizing the principles of trust, detachment, abundance, and acceptance not only change your selling experience – they will change your life.

First – Trust your Realtor’s knowledge of the current market conditions and accept the reality of selling your home for less than you may think it’s worth (particularly if you’ve lived there for less than five years).

Second – Accept market statistics showing the facts about home sales prices in your particular neighborhood for the last three to six months.

Third – Trust that this is a benevolent and abundant universe. If your profit is less than expected, you will be okay. You are always being taken care of.

Fourth – Detach from any emotional connection to the house and put your focus on moving to your next home. Bless it and let it go.

We all have varying degrees of emotional attachment to our home. However, if you need or want to sell your home, think of it as a commodity and not as “your home.” You can carry the memories you’ve made there to your next home if you choose to.

For most of us, “our home” really never is “our home” because it’s owned by the mortgage company.

Trust, Accept, and Detachment WILL change your life and will absolutely change your selling experience.

Selling your home? Did you know that it takes a home buyer only ten seconds to form a first impression? Ensure your home creates a positive first impression and makes a buyer happy by applying these ten simple suggestions based on art and science of Feng Shui. It’s your attention to the details that will help your home outshine the competition.

The front door and door mat greatly influence a buyer's first impression of your home.

1- Remove dead plants in the front yard.

2- Add colorful flowers to flower beds or plant flowers in terracotta pots and place in sparse areas of your yard.

3- When looking at the front yard from the street, ensure that each side of the yard is balanced with landscaping or yard furniture.

4- Keep your pathway free of debris. Sweep daily.

5- Keep the front door sparkling clean and repaint it if necessary.

6- If your front door mat is more than a couple weeks old, replace it with a new colorful mat. It’s best not to have personal sentiments on it, except for things like “welcome” or “glad you’re here.”

7- Potted flowers on each side of the doorway are welcoming but ensure that the leaves are rounded…no cactus!

10- A yard ornament with a cheerful message can help create a positive impression, but avoid personal messages.

So after checking off this list, you’ve got a buyer excited about your home and eager to see more, congratulations! Stay tuned for information about the next “first impression” — what happens when a buyer steps inside.